DOUGLAS is the director of this weekend's Doctor Who episode, entitled Listen, which was also written by fellow Scot Steven Moffat and stars Peter Capaldi.

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Douglas MacKinnon

THIS weekend, millions of TV viewers across the world will be tuning in to see the work of Scots TV director Douglas Mackinnon.

Douglas, who lives in Fife, is the director of the Doctor Who episode, entitled Listen, which he believes is one of the greatest in the show’s 51-year history.

It’s a tartan-tinted TARDIS as the episode has been written by showrunner Steven Moffat, from Paisley, and stars Glaswegian Peter Capaldi as the iconic Time Lord.

Douglas, a former photographer, is the first man to direct episodes for David Tennant, Matt Smith and Capaldi, said: “It’s a real treat to do and I’m happy to have done more than any director in the last five years.”

This weekend’s episode is the first of three in the eighth series of the revived sci-fi show which the Scot is helming.

Douglas explained: “I’ve done three episodes this time, so I’ve done a quarter of the series. I was interested to see how Peter was evolving the character.

“Even though it’s the 12th Doctor, each Doctor has to find his way to portray the Doctor.

“In Line of Duty, the writing was so amazing and when I discovered I was going to get Listen, written by Steven, I felt so lucky. It’s Steven at his peak, and Listen is one of the best things that he’s written - ever. Even if I didn’t have the privilege of directing it, I’d still say it was amazing.

“Although it travels big time, through time and space, it has a big conclusion to it. It’s a bit of a love letter to the show itself and really explores the Doctor in a particular way. And it’s got a message for children and adults, that’s beautiful and poetic.”

Time Lord Peter Capaldi, and Clara, played by Jenna Coleman

Douglas is also responsible for the following week’s episode, Time Heist, which guest stars Keeley Hawes.

He explained: “I suggested Keeley as I’d worked with her on Line of Duty. I thought she’d be great and she jumped at it, and it was fun for us. We’d done Line of Duty and it was a great success, and Doctor Who was something that was so different. It was great fun.

“What we wanted to do was a heist movie for Doctor Who. I’ve watched virtually every heist movie there’s ever been, and incorporates things into it, but because it’s Doctor Who, time travel is involved. There’s a real time travel twist to it that’s quite amazing - it starts with the TARDIS in Clara’s flat, and the TARDIS phone starts ringing - very few people have that number, so when he picks up the phone, that’s when the adventure begins.

“In traditional heist style, you get a gang together and each has a skill. One of the big things is, when the phone goes, they all arrive in this place and none of them can remember how they got there. They have to discover that as they travel, as they’ve involved in a bank raid but they don’t know what they’re trying to find.”

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Later in the series, Douglas is directing the ninth episode, Flatline.

He teased: “Flatline involves different types of CGI creatures. I’ve still got some work to finish it off, but it’s looking good.”

Working with Peter Capaldi has been a dream for Douglas, and the director says they have been winding each other up.

Douglas laughed: “We have plenty of Scottish banter that gets a few sideways glances, between Peter and myself. We give each other tough love, if you like!

“There’s no quarter given - I tell him routinely that he’s just the 12th choice for the part, and he tells me I’ve probably won a competition in the West Highland Free Press to direct Doctor Who!”